The National Federation of State High School Associations allowed wrestlers across the country the option of wearing a new two-piece uniform this season. Here in Iowa, the reviews has been mixed.
Cody Goodwin/The Register

A Denver wrestler wears a two-piece uniform while competing. The new two-piece uniforms are an option for high school wrestlers this season.(Photo: Contributed Photo: Denver High School)

Chris Krueger, the longtime wrestling coach at Denver High School, is used to his athletes competing in a traditional singlet — that tight-fitting piece of spandex that has been part of the sport for decades.

But this year, Krueger ordered some two-piece uniforms for his junior-high wrestling team — compression shorts and matching, form-fitted compression shirts. Krueger doubles as Denver's athletic director, and he purchased enough that his high-school team had the option to wear them, too.

To his surprise, his Cyclone wrestlers, who are currently No. 2 in IAWrestle's Class 1A team rankings and Predicament's No. 1, have consistently chosen the new two-piece singlets.

“So far when given the option, many are choosing the (two-piece uniform),” Krueger told the Des Moines Register in an email. “I'm sure the newness and (the) fact others do not have them adds to that.

“But for the most part, I think our kids just really like wearing them and so far have been wrestling pretty well in them — which, in turn, makes me a fan.”

Denver is one of a handful of Iowa high school wrestling programs taking advantage of the new uniform rules passed by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) back in May. High school wrestlers around the country now have the option to wear either the traditional one-piece singlet or the new two-piece uniform.

The Denver wrestling team poses for a team picture while sporting both the traditional singlet and new two-piece uniform. The two-piece uniforms were allowed this year as an option for high school wrestling across the country.(Photo: Contributed Photo: Smithstudio in Denver, IA.)

The NFHS has specific requirements for the two-piece uniform:

“The compression shorts or shorts designed for wrestling shall be school-issued and shall have a minimum 4-inch inseam that does not extend below the knee. The form-fitted compression shirt shall not cover or extend below the elbow and shall have a minimum 3-inch tail. The shirt may be worn under a singlet or with compression shorts or shorts designed for wrestling.”

The NFHS passed the rule in the hopes that more boys and girls would go out for wrestling. The sport's national participation has steadily decreased over the past seven years. In 2010-11, there were 281,083 wrestlers (boys and girls) nationwide, according to the NFHS. Last year, there were just 259,391. The roughly 8 percent downward trend has occurred in spite of girls' participation essentially doubling in the same time frame (from 7,351 to 14,587).

Wrestling has inconsistently flirted with the idea of a two-piece singlet. NCAA teams were allowed to use them beginning in 2005, but only a few (most notably, Edinboro, Missouri and Lehigh) have dabbled with it. Flowrestling, the FloSports’ wrestling website, hosts elite competitions where wrestlers are gifted two-piece uniforms for reaching the finals and/or being invited.

An example: New Hampton’s Michael Blockhus was the beneficiary of a two-piece uniform when he made the finals of the 2016 FloNationals at 113 pounds. Carter Isley, a former Albia standout who now wrestles at Northern Iowa, and Kanen Storr, a current Cyclone wrestler, also sported the two-piece the same year when they made the finals at heavyweight and 138.

“I love it,” Storr said at the time. “These are sweet, man. That was the motivation (to win and earn the gear).”

Last year, the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) polled 8,500 coaches nationwide about the two-piece uniform option, and found that there was overwhelming support for at least making it an option. Mike Moyer, the executive director of the NWCA, told USA Wrestling it was important to simultaneously retain wrestlers and grow the sport.

“What we found was that the singlet was definitely a barrier to entry into the sport,” Moyer said then. “This was especially an issue with first-year wrestlers and at the middle-school level.”

Here in Iowa, reactions were mixed. In a preseason survey by the Des Moines Register, 81 high school wrestling coaches statewide responded to a question about the new uniform change. More than half (58 percent) said their teams would use singlets this season.

Their reasons varied. Many coaches wrote that money was an issue, saying their program had recently purchased new singlets or that they simply couldn’t afford the new option. Some were afraid of potential clothing malfunctions during a match. Others just preferred tradition.

“We are sticking to one-piece singlets because we believe that there is something to be said about putting on a singlet for competition,” Alburnett coach Clayton Rush wrote. “These young student-athletes need to separate from knowing what practice gear is and (what) competition gear (is). When it's time to compete, we put singlets on.

“We did a survey at our school, and no student (alluded) to a singlet hindering their decision to go out for wrestling. ... We believe that a singlet is a major benefit to competing.”

Still, a number of coaches said they’d either use the two-piece singlet or at least consider them for the 2017-18 season and beyond. Some said they were open to the change if their wrestlers wanted to try it. Others went ahead and ordered two-piece uniforms in the hopes of boosting participation. A handful said the new uniforms just looked cool.

“Just to give our kids another option and make the sport as fun and interesting for our kids,” Norwalk coach Brandon Schmitz wrote. “As coaches, we always try to find ways to spark participation.”

A handful of coaches also wrote that their high-school teams would stick with singlets this year but, like Krueger, they ordered two-piece uniforms for their respective middle-school teams. They don’t want the singlet to be a reason kids don’t go out for wrestling.

“We are not going to switch this year. We just purchased new singlets a few years ago,” Newton coach Andy Swedenhjelm wrote. “We did switch with our middle-school program though and so far it has been a hit with those kids.

“They tend to like the feel and appearance of them a little more and feel less of a stigma (than with) the singlet.”

Some schools have already used the two-piece uniforms this season during tournaments. There's Denver, of course, but count in West Liberty and Sibley-Ocheyedan, among others. Johnston coach Aaron Tecklenburg wrote that his team “likely won’t wear (the two-piece) in a dual, but for kids who want to wear them on Saturdays in a tournament, we won’t discourage that.”

Lewie Curtis, the director of officials and the wrestling administrator for the Iowa High School Athletic Association, said the association hasn’t done any research pertaining to the new uniforms. He’s talked with coaches both for and against the change. He believes the uniforms will catch on once some of the state’s elite wrestlers start wearing them.

Until then, the option will be left up to the coaches, some of whom are all-in. Ben Strandberg, the head coach at Sibley-Ocheyedan, said he orders custom singlets every year and figured he’d give the new uniforms a try as well.

The Generals, who finished third at the Class 1A state tournament last season, have three options to choose from — two singlets and a two-piece uniform. All of them have “Generals” across the front, and one of the singlet options closely resembles the two-piece, so they can use whichever they please during a dual.

Sibley-Ocheyedan wrestlers pose with their three singlet options this season -- two traditional singlets and one two-piece uniform. High school wrestlers across the country are allowed the option of a two-piece uniform this season.(Photo: Contributed Photo: Sibley-Ocheyedan High School)

Strandberg said he’s been pleasantly surprised by the reaction.

“Most tournaments, we will use our singlets for the first round or two and then switch to the two-piece for the rest of the day,” Strandberg wrote in an email to the Register. “Our guys really like the new look and have enjoyed competing with them.

“Even some our veteran wrestlers prefer the two-piece over the singlet.”

Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.

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